Dinner's on Alabama QB Greg McElroy... and other stuff!

When I was talking to Alabama receiver Mike McCoy the other day for this article, he mentioned a whole bunch of stuff that quarterback Greg McElroy was doing off the field. He talked of "unity" and how McElroy was assuming the role of leader when it came time to put the pads away.

An interesting topic... so I asked McElroy about it when I saw him today. And as always, he did not disappoint.

Here are tomorrow's notes:

*****Greg McElroy has yet to officially be named Alabama's starting quarterback for 2009, but the junior is beginning to act like it.

McElroy spends his free time making sure he hangs out with various offensive players, whether going over to receiver Mike McCoy's place or taking the offensive line out. When McCoy said "there's a lot more unity on the team," this is one change he noted.

It's not by accident.

"Every quarterback knows, your best friend is the offensive line," McElroy said. "From left tackle to right tackle, you got to take care of those guys. One of the ways we try to do it is we take the offensive linemen out - maybe once after the spring, once before the fall. Just set the record straight that I'm taking care of them, they better take care of me."

McElroy did the same in high school, though he wound up with a $700 bill for an all-you-can-eat Brazilian steakhouse.

"I don't think I'll be making that mistake again," he said.

*****Starting guard Mike Johnson sat out practice Wednesday, as he continues to battle a sprained ankle. Reserve Brian Motley took his place. Running back Mark Ingram (hamstring) also did not practice.

"I don't think either one of them will scrimmage on Friday," Saban said. "We'll hopefully be able to get them back on Monday or Tuesday."

*****Practice is scheduled for Monday, but Saban said he might move it back a day to watch film of Friday's scrimmage.

*****Saban had little to do with former Browns General Manager Phil Savage being hired as the radio color commentator on A-Day. But he is happy to see his old friend and former colleague with Cleveland return.

"He and I have had a close relationship for years, and I'm pleased and happy," Saban said of Savage, the former Tide graduate assistant. "I know he's from Alabama. He's one of us. So we're glad to have one of us that we're close (return)."

*****Wednesday resembled a Thursday practice during a season, with the fewer individual drills and more team work. It did not go well.

"It's a little bit more of those situations that you're in - whether it's two-minute, third-down period, red area," Saban said. "We didn't get the kind of execution today by enough people."

He was later question about any players having won starting spots, and he joked. "You me a question like that after a bad practice?"